Group of Democrats Has Introduced a New, Bipartisan Version of the Immigration Reform Act

A group of centrist House Democrats has introduced a new version of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. Although not the full text, this version is said to be a modification of a Senate bill approved earlier in 2013. The House bill takes a different approach to handling the problem. The House bill takes a different path on border security, including the highly debated “border surge” matter involving undocumented immigrants surging across the U.S. borders in recent times.

Content-wise, the bill which came out on October 2, 2013, reflects many bipartisan agreements and political compromises made during Senate meetings. The actual co-sponsors of the original bill represent diverse interests from within the Democratic portion of the Senate.

The recent effort was a positive attempt to keep the Washington leadership’s immigration reform conversation going, with further beneficial momentum on immigration reform by drawing together centrist members who can validly espouse a bipartisan view that will be seen as a credible effort to heal immigration law breakdowns and valid concerns about the concept of citizenship.

Executive Director, Benjamin Johnson of the American Immigration Council, when commenting on the recent bipartisan action, stated that in his view, “The introduction of a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the House presents an important opportunity for bipartisan cooperation to [use as] a starting point for shaping truly bipartisan legislation. . . .He views this as a way to fix what is already in place or for legislators “to put forward an alternative vehicle for fixing our broken immigration system.”

Heavy activity is taking place in both divisions of the Legislative Branch–the House and the Senate– on the immigration debate. This most recent positive step will permit legislators in Washington to attempt to fix what is broken in our immigration laws. Focused action on the part of all involved will be required to craft a workable solution.

Having served as an immigration attorney at the Lyttle Law Firm for many years, I recognize that the impasse the politicians have arrived at must be resolved before our broken immigration system can be fixed.
Lyttle Law Firm, PLLC provides legal advice to clients in the fields of immigration and family law. To learn how Lyttle Law Firm may be able to help you with your legal problems, please call (512) 215-5225.